Hey guys,

I'm thinking about applying to MBA programs on kind of a whim. I don't have any real work experience as I went straight to graduate school after undergrad, but I do know that having an MBA from a top school can give you a lot of versatility career-wise. Anyway, I'm currently in an Economics PhD program (top 15), and I'm starting to think that an academic lifestyle isn't for me. I have pretty solid undergrad grades and GRE scores, but I'm wondering how much work experience matters; I've heard from a few people that it's everything in an MBA program. Do I really need to express interest in a specific career trajectory, or is being a 'blank slate' ok? Also, what would be my chances at top b-schools, specifically Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton (if evaluation like that is at all possible based on what i post below)?

Undergrad institution: top 10 liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.78/4.00 (Major: Economics, minor: Mathematics, 3.8 GPA in both), magna cum laude, phi beta kappa, top 5% of graduating class in terms of GPA
GRE: 800 Math, 710 Verbal, 5.0 AWA
Graduate institution: large public state school, top 10-15 in Economics
Grad GPA ~3.1/4.0 (not sure how much this matters, though)

Work experience: TA for the past year for introductory economics course, decent teacher evaluations; Research assistant for various professors, have a publication in an online journal in health-economics related stuff; worked at the Census Bureau for a summer doing statistical stuff and worked another summer as a 'development intern' doing fundraising for a think-tank.

EC's:
In college, I was a 4 year NCAA D1 letterman in wrestling. I wasn't very good, but I won some team awards since my coaches liked me and some academic achievement awards (like academic all-conference). I was also on the executive board for a few student activities and was on student government for a semester.

at HBS, there's an oppty to apply directly from Harvard undergrad for a slot at HBS, but HBS still makes you get 2+ years of work experience before you can start. I also heard a rumor of HBS accepting someone directly out of college (i.e., zero work experience), but the kid started some kind of multi-million dollar start-up in his dorm (not Facebook), and needed the MBA b/c he was managing a 200+ workforce and he was like 21 years old.

bottom line: H/S/W (and I'd say the rest of the top 5) will almost never accept anyone without REALLY GOOD work experience. It's more than just doing smthg for 2 years or so. You need to prove that you can be successful in the business world and you know how to move ahead. You also need to bring that experience into the classroom so that your classmates can learn from you. It's a critical part of the decision making, and I don't see any way around it.

Perhaps, as suggested earlier, a more focused degree could be a nice substitute? Sorry it's not more positive, but hope that helps,
-james young
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